President Erdoğan to kick off busy diplomatic schedule tomorrow

A busy timetable is expected for President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan next month as he sets off to pay a series of visits to various countries with an intense agenda.

On Sept. 1-3, Erdoğan will be visiting Kyrgyzstan. He will meet his Kyrgyz counterpart Sooronbay Jeenbekov. The two leaders will discuss issues such as increasing the trade volume between the two countries and the fight against FETÖ.

Erdoğan will attend the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States with the participation of leaders from Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan.

Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev will join the council for the first time this year after Erdoğan's invitation during his visit in May.

The Turkic Council was established in 2009 as an international intergovernmental organization, with the overarching aim of promoting comprehensive cooperation among Turkic speaking states. Its four founding member states are Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkey.

It was formed on the four main pillars of common history, language, identity and culture, but it is not limited to the confines of these commonalities. Rather, the council aims to broaden existing bilateral cooperation in areas such as economy, science, education, transportation, customs, tourism and other various fields between member states into multilateral cooperation for the benefit of the region.

Referring to his visit to Kyrgyzstan, Erdoğan said yesterday that Turkey has strong ties with many countries beyond boundaries and the three-day visit is a proof of that. On the sidelines of the visit, Erdoğan will hold bilateral meetings with leaders attending the meeting as well.

In September, President Erdoğan will also attend the United Nations General Assembly in New York. The visit is considered to be significant as it comes amidst a row between the U.S. and Turkey. The relations between the two countries have been severely strained as a result of the U.S.' unjust sanctions imposed over the country. In the face of economic sanctions on Turkey, some European countries have expressed their support for Turkey.

In late September, Erdoğan is expected to pay a visit to Germany to meet Chancellor Angela Merkel. Ties with Germany have been showing signs of thawing as the country presented a positive stance toward Turkey against the economic sanctions imposed by the U.S.